Ghana’s 2016 gold output jumped 45% to 4.1Moz – report

ACCRA – Ghana’s gold output jumped 45% in 2016 compared to the previous year as new projects came online and activities expanded across the industry, the Ghana Chamber of Mines said in a report on Friday.

Total gold output from Africa’s second largest producer was 4.1-million ounces, the highest level in nearly 40 years, up from 2.8-million ounces in 2015, the report stated.

Canada’s Asanko Gold, which launched its operations in Ghana late 2015, produced 162 802 oz of gold last year while US-based Newmont Gold and Anglogold Ashanti’s Iduapriem mine recorded increases in output.

Output from artisanal miners rose nearly six-fold to 1.5-million ounces in 2016 from 267 662 oz in the previous year.

Total Gold revenues for 2016 including exports from small-scale mining amounted to $5.15-billion up from $3.32-billion in 2015.

Manganese output also rose to two-million tonnes last year from 1.2-million tonnes, while diamond production slipped to 143 005 ct from 185 376 ct in 2015.